Edinburgh-headquartered Flexitricity has signed a deal to control the flow of electricity to the National Grid from a storage battery asset owned by energy investor Gresham House.
The firm's technology will be used to maximise revenue from gas generators and power stored in lithium ion batteries at the Noriker Staunch project in Gloucester. Regulating the supply from disparate sources to the grid is seen as a major step towards the switch to renewable energy.
In May, Flexitricity took on the management of a 19.5MW battery storage portfolio at Larport Farm for Anesco, and it runs several other large-scale projects.
Andy Lowe, sales director at Flexitricity, said: “We are very excited to grow our share of the UK’s flexible energy market through our partnership with Gresham House Energy Storage Fund. It’s an incredibly exciting time to work in this industry. The transition towards a low-carbon economy continues to create a huge opportunity for flexible energy consumers and battery storage developers to help the National Grid meet the energy demands of the UK.
“Monetising these opportunities isn’t easy which is why the right partnerships are so vital. Flexitricity opens the door to the full range of available revenue streams and our 24/7 control room ensures we can monitor the energy markets and the site’s capabilities every second of the day.”
Under the partnership, Flexitricity will manage the Noriker Staunch project from its 24/7 control room in Edinburgh, ensuring enough power is available on demand, supplying the National grid through the Balancing Mechanism, and allowing energy to be traded in the day ahead and intraday energy markets.
Flexitricity, part of the Swiss-based Alpiq Group, says it has generated over £20million for its energy partners since its launch in the demand-response industry in 2004. It is the first supplier in the UK to provide full, active participation in the Balancing Mechanism for demand response assets.
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund is part of stock exchange-listed Gresham House PLC, which owns strategic infrastructure, energy and forestry assets.
Ben Guest, portfolio manager of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund, said: “Flexible generation assets - and battery-led projects in particular - are crucial, enabling the deployment of significant incremental amounts of renewable energy projects and energy storage also offers investors an attractive new asset class as the UK transitions to a cleaner, more sustainable system. We are pleased to be working with a partner of Flexitricity’s pedigree to ensure both the smooth running and the optimisation of our Noriker Staunch site.”
